Promoted to Fourth Captain and Officially Joining the Team Committee! Manchester City Officially Announces: We Fully Support Tang!

Just five minutes after the match against Hull City ended, while the players were still resting in the locker room, Manchester City's official club website published a rare announcement.

[We fully support Tang! The player's and the club's reputation must not be tarnished!]

There are two reasons why it is considered rare.

Firstly, generally speaking, the report released by the club's official website immediately after the match is about the result of the match, not other news;

Secondly, the announcement was carefully worded and emotionally charged, clearly indicating that it had been prepared in advance and was ready to be published immediately after this great victory!

"Recently, major UK media outlets have published numerous reports defaming Don and Manchester City Football Club. These reports are entirely fabricated, and the authorities strongly condemn them!"

"Tang is a key player the club brought in this summer. He is deeply loved by Manchester City fans and has given everything for the club!"

"The club reiterates its commitment to operating with fairness, justice, compassion, and friendliness, and to building a sustainable future for the club in the Premier League!"

"We have never crossed any legal or regulatory red lines, nor will we overstep the bottom line of morality and ethics!"

"Furthermore, any media outlets that disparage the players and the club will be blacklisted in our public relations department. The club will not grant any interviews to such media, and they will be banned from entering the Etihad Stadium!"

After the match.

Scene from the press conference at the Etihad Stadium.

A reporter from the Sun, carrying a prepared interview outline, hopped in with great enthusiasm.

Two sex scandals involving Tang Long, and the most recent major news story about internal strife in Manchester City's dressing room, have made the Sun a veritable money-maker!

Newspaper sales surged by 86%!

The cost of advertising space is also rising sharply!

The editor-in-chief is requesting a pay raise for all employees from the boss behind the scenes.

The Sun, having profited from the tragic deaths of Tang Long and Manchester City, is absolutely ecstatic!

They weren't concerned with whether Manchester City won or lost today; they were just eager to get to the press conference and follow up on the subsequent reports, hoping to dig out some juicy news from the coach and players.

However, the reporter from the Sun walked to his seat with great interest, and just as he was about to sit down, the security guard behind him suddenly pulled the chair out, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud, yelling in pain!

"What the hell? What are you trying to do?!"

Before the poor young man from the Sun could even react, he was dragged out like a chicken by two 1.9-meter-tall black security guards who hoisted him onto their shoulders!

Amidst the astonished gazes of the reporters, Manchester City's press officer, microphone in hand, declared righteously:

"On behalf of the club, I hereby announce that journalists from the Sun will be permanently banned from the Etihad Stadium!"

Upon hearing this, the young man from the Sun, though being held by two burly men, still struggled to turn his head and shout:

"On what grounds? I am a licensed UK journalist, I have the freedom to conduct interviews, and you cannot restrict my personal freedom!"

The press officer gave a cold laugh. "I'm sorry, but the Etihad Stadium is the private property of Manchester City Football Club, and we have the right to refuse entry to anyone!"

The scene fell silent.

Reporters could hardly believe that such a strongly worded response and violent dispersal could occur at a Premier League club's release ceremony!

The reporters began to whisper among themselves.

"What happened? The Sun has been permanently banned from entering Etihad?"

"When did this happen? That's so sudden!"

"My goodness, has the Daily Telegraph been blacklisted?"

"Robbery! This is outrageous robbery!"

"The Premier League League won't stand idly by; this is jeopardizing our journalists' livelihoods!"

Amidst the murmurs and discussions among the crowd.

Suddenly, a few solitary, yet extremely loud and jarring claps rang out.

Everyone followed the sound and looked closely—only to see a reporter from the Guardian standing tall, clapping enthusiastically!

"Well done! As media colleagues, the Guardian firmly opposes the Sun, a trashy media outlet that uses improper means to secretly photograph others and generate traffic for sensationalism!"

Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager on the stage, smiled and gave a thumbs-up to a reporter from the Guardian.

"UK has a long media history, and the Guardian, born in Manchester, has always been a good friend of Manchester City," Pellegrini turned to the press officer, gesturing towards the Guardian reporter, "Give him the microphone and let him do the interview first."

A reporter asked, "Mr. Pellegrini, Manchester City achieved a resounding 6-0 victory after the turmoil, slapping many people in the face. What are your thoughts on this?"

Pellegrini said, "I'm sorry, but as you said, Manchester City has disappointed many people again."

"Thanks to Don and Bony, and to the other hard-working players for their contributions to this resounding victory. And thank you to the club's management for their strong support of Manchester City!"

"Manchester United are going to compete with us for the Christmas title?"

"Sorry, Manchester City won't give it to you, you can't take it away!"

What Manchester City won't give up, you can't take away!

This was the headline published on the front page of the Guardian the following day.

The accompanying photo is a frozen moment of Tang Long and Bony standing shoulder to shoulder, raising their arms and shouting towards the main stand of the Etihad Stadium!

After a series of controversies, Manchester City's management has once again realized that the Premier League has never been a peaceful arena.

It's simply impossible to eliminate all the external disturbances and turmoil.

To succeed, one must be strong oneself; only by strengthening the team's internal cohesion can victory be achieved!

Soon after, the team seized the opportunity and convened a press conference with several key figures from the locker room, holding a unique press conference.

Kompany, Agüero, Toure, Joe Hart, Fernando, and Kolarov – these six are the team captain and the nominal leaders of the Spanish-speaking Faction, French-speaking Faction, English-speaking Faction, Portuguese-speaking Faction, and Italian-speaking Faction, respectively.

Although there had been some friction among the group at Kompany's house a few days ago over Nasri's future;

However, faced with external attacks, the leaders temporarily set aside their prejudices, united, and issued a declaration of solidarity.

"There is absolutely no bullying in Manchester City's dressing room!"

"Nasri's actions have not only hurt his teammates' feelings and the club's reputation, but also violated the ethical standards of a professional player!"

"We are very united and of one mind, so there is no factionalism in the locker room, and it is even less likely that we would follow Tang's instructions to suppress any one person."

"Tang is an important member of the team. He has a cheerful personality, excellent skills, and is a good person—we all welcome him."

"Any baseless defamation and attacks against Tang and the club will be unanimously condemned by the locker room, and the club reserves the right to pursue legal action accordingly!"

However, the seasoned, gray-haired reporters at the scene had very sharp eyes...

I noticed a difference in the expressions of the bigwigs on stage.

Kompany, Agüero, and Kolarov spoke with passion and conviction, their words carrying an undeniable air of authority.

When they get excited, their arms even use body language.

Joe Hart wore a faint smile, remaining as calm as ever.

In contrast Toure and Fernando spoke in a rather flat and listless tone, as if they were reading from a script and speaking in a bureaucratic manner.

A major decision!

The following morning, as soon as the players assembled, CEO Begiristain and Pellegrini appeared before them.

"I hereby announce that Tang will serve as the team's fourth captain!"

At present, Manchester City's number one captain and the absolute leader in the dressing room is undoubtedly the Belgium, center-back Kompany.

Agüero is the second-in-line captain.

The third captain is Yaya Toure midfielder from Ivory Coast.

The fourth captaincy originally belonged to Joe Hart, but due to his form at Manchester City over the past month, the position had fallen to Silva, and now it has fallen to Tang Long.

The French-speaking Faction, Spanish-speaking Faction, Portuguese-speaking Faction, Italian-speaking Faction, and English-speaking Faction are all internal political factions formed by players forming cliques in the locker room.

The team's four captains are officially recognized by the club and publicly announced.

It is also an important basis for determining seniority when attending external events.

Tang Long's appointment as the fourth captain, replacing Silva, means he has joined the club's officially recognized Team Committee and become one of the four key figures in uniting the locker room!

If we say that Kompany, Agüero, and Yaya Toure are absolutely Tier 0 players in Manchester City;

Therefore, Tang Long became the second-best in the T1 sequence, after these three, and even ranked first in the T1 sequence!

It's worth noting that when he first joined Manchester City, although he arrived with the club's highest transfer fee in history, he was a newcomer and too young, only 19 years old. In the club's official ranking system, he was not only far below veterans like Kompany, Agüero, Yaya Toure, Joe Hart, Silva, but also ranked lower than veterans like Kolarov, Sagna, and Nasri.

He is probably in the T2 tier, similar to Sterling, Ranocchia, Clichy, Fernandinho, and others.

But now, with Manchester City's official decision, Tang Long's status has soared, rising directly from the middle of the T2 tier to the top of T1!

Faced with Tang Long's meteoric rise, his teammates on the court displayed a variety of expressions.

Kolarov and Ranocchia from the Italian-speaking Faction were beaming with joy!

This means that the Italian-speaking Faction has finally entered the ranks of official captains, which will greatly help to increase the Italian-speaking Faction's voice in the locker room.

Kompany immediately responded by expressing his strong support for the club's decision.

Silva, who had just been given the fourth captaincy but was immediately stripped of it, looked shocked and confused!

Tang has only been with Manchester City for less than six months, and he's already on the Team Committee?

Begiristain! Where do you put an old player like me?

He nudged the arm of Agüero, the Spanish-speaking Faction, wanting him to say a few words.

Seeing that the Spanish-speaking Faction had lost a spot on the official Team Committee, reducing their number of members from two to one, Agüero.

However, after pondering for a few seconds, he saw that even CEO Begiristain had made an appearance, and knew that this was an official decision by the club. He then looked up and greeted everyone with a smile, encouraging them to applaud Tang Long.

"Congratulations, Tang! Welcome to the Manchester City Team Committee!"

Joe Hart, the leader of the English-speaking Faction, was also clapping silently, but his clapping was indifferent and expressionless.

His position as fourth captain had been taken away by Silva once before, and who cares who gave it to after that!

Sterling and Bony looked at Tang Long with envy and admiration in their eyes.

Toure and Fernando, however, remained completely indifferent!

Toure, in particular, only clapped his hands once and never closed them again.

He didn't hear a single word of Tang Long's subsequent speech.

I am Manchester City's third captain. This is a status and position I earned after playing for Manchester City for many years. You, Tang Long, are indeed very strong, but the captaincy is based on seniority. It's a bit too hasty to be ranked behind me so quickly!

Manchester City's high-profile announcement of Tang Long as the fourth captain and his inclusion in the Team Committee naturally affirms Tang Long's abilities and expresses their hope that he will be a strong support against external controversies, making Tang Long feel at home at Manchester City.

However, besides that, Manchester City also had an important event in mind, which required them to promote Tang Long...